Endurance training at home – the best exercises
Endurance training can boost your life expectancy – even more so than strength training. And why not change things up and try something other than jogging, cycling or swimming! There are simple and effective endurance exercises that you can do at home. We’ve put together a workout for you.
We all know that sport – be it endurance or strength training – is good for us. Exercising regularly increases your oxygen capacity, strengthens muscles, burns more fat, boosts blood circulation and, over time, lowers your heart rate at rest and under strain.
But not all training is the same. A study conducted by cardiologists at the Saarland and Leipzig university hospitals has shown that endurance sport and interval training are more effective at slowing cell ageing than strength training.
In a press release, Professor Ulrich Laufs, head of the study and professor of cardiology at Leipzig University, explained that they had examined blood cells to determine that both types of endurance training have a beneficial impact as important regulators of cell ageing. He went on to say that strength training is a good complement to endurance workouts, but not a replacement.
It’s simple: bodyweight endurance workout at home
You don’t need equipment for a simple and effective cardio workout. And you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home. Martina Stucki, personal trainer at Zone4Performance in Winterthur, shows you in the video how you can keep fit at home with just a few exercises.
If you didn’t find the workout tough enough, try our high-intensity interval training (HIIT). You’ll find the video with the exercises here.
“What counts is how hard you work out, not how long.”
How long should a cardio workout be?
Generally speaking, the more regularly you work out, the better. It’s better to do a short cardio session of 10 to 30 minutes several times a week rather than just one hour-long workout once a week. “What counts is how hard you work out, not how long,” says Martina Stucki. “A short, intensive interval workout can be just as effective in training your endurance than a long workout done at a moderate intensity.” But that doesn’t mean you should only exercise in the intense range.
A longer, leisurely session also has a positive impact on your well-being and ability to recover. Tip from the expert: “Rather than always training in a moderate range (60 to 80% of your maximum heart rate), alternate between intense cardio sessions (80 to 100% of you maximum heart rate) and low-impact base training (up to 60% of your maximum heart rate).”